diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 564340ae26..3c9c67be4b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 - `opentelemetry-docker-tests`: Replace deprecated `SpanAttributes` from `opentelemetry.semconv.trace` with `opentelemetry.semconv._incubating.attributes`
  ([#4339](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/4339))
+- `opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka`: Skip `recv` span creation when `poll()` returns no message or `consume()` returns an empty list, avoiding empty spans on idle polls
+  ([#4349](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/4349))
 - Fix intermittent `Core Contrib Test` CI failures caused by GitHub git CDN SHA propagation lag by installing core packages from the already-checked-out local copy instead of a second git clone
   ([#4305](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python-contrib/pull/4305))
 - Don't import module in unwrap if not already imported
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/confluent_kafka/__init__.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/confluent_kafka/__init__.py
index f4606bc4d9..ed390d7006 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/confluent_kafka/__init__.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/src/opentelemetry/instrumentation/confluent_kafka/__init__.py
@@ -383,11 +383,11 @@ def wrap_poll(func, instance, tracer, args, kwargs):
         if instance._current_consume_span:
             _end_current_consume_span(instance)
 
-        with tracer.start_as_current_span(
-            "recv", end_on_exit=True, kind=trace.SpanKind.CONSUMER
-        ):
-            record = func(*args, **kwargs)
-            if record:
+        record = func(*args, **kwargs)
+        if record:
+            with tracer.start_as_current_span(
+                "recv", end_on_exit=True, kind=trace.SpanKind.CONSUMER
+            ):
                 _create_new_consume_span(instance, tracer, [record])
                 _enrich_span(
                     instance._current_consume_span,
@@ -396,9 +396,9 @@ def wrap_poll(func, instance, tracer, args, kwargs):
                     record.offset(),
                     operation=MessagingOperationTypeValues.PROCESS,
                 )
-        instance._current_context_token = context.attach(
-            trace.set_span_in_context(instance._current_consume_span)
-        )
+            instance._current_context_token = context.attach(
+                trace.set_span_in_context(instance._current_consume_span)
+            )
 
         return record
 
@@ -407,21 +407,20 @@ def wrap_consume(func, instance, tracer, args, kwargs):
         if instance._current_consume_span:
             _end_current_consume_span(instance)
 
-        with tracer.start_as_current_span(
-            "recv", end_on_exit=True, kind=trace.SpanKind.CONSUMER
-        ):
-            records = func(*args, **kwargs)
-            if len(records) > 0:
+        records = func(*args, **kwargs)
+        if len(records) > 0:
+            with tracer.start_as_current_span(
+                "recv", end_on_exit=True, kind=trace.SpanKind.CONSUMER
+            ):
                 _create_new_consume_span(instance, tracer, records)
                 _enrich_span(
                     instance._current_consume_span,
                     records[0].topic(),
                     operation=MessagingOperationTypeValues.PROCESS,
                 )
-
-        instance._current_context_token = context.attach(
-            trace.set_span_in_context(instance._current_consume_span)
-        )
+            instance._current_context_token = context.attach(
+                trace.set_span_in_context(instance._current_consume_span)
+            )
 
         return records
 
diff --git a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/tests/test_instrumentation.py b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/tests/test_instrumentation.py
index 365ac333d9..772ecd09ee 100644
--- a/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/tests/test_instrumentation.py
+++ b/instrumentation/opentelemetry-instrumentation-confluent-kafka/tests/test_instrumentation.py
@@ -197,7 +197,6 @@ def test_poll(self) -> None:
                     MESSAGING_MESSAGE_ID: "topic-30.1.3",
                 },
             },
-            {"name": "recv", "attributes": {}},
         ]
 
         consumer = MockConsumer(
@@ -213,7 +212,7 @@ def test_poll(self) -> None:
         consumer.poll()
         consumer.poll()
         consumer.poll()
-        consumer.poll()
+        consumer.poll()  # empty poll — must not produce a span
 
         span_list = self.memory_exporter.get_finished_spans()
         self._compare_spans(span_list, expected_spans)
@@ -259,7 +258,6 @@ def test_consume(self) -> None:
                     SpanAttributes.MESSAGING_DESTINATION_KIND: MessagingDestinationKindValues.QUEUE.value,
                 },
             },
-            {"name": "recv", "attributes": {}},
         ]
 
         consumer = MockConsumer(
@@ -276,10 +274,86 @@ def test_consume(self) -> None:
         consumer.consume(3)
         consumer.consume(1)
         consumer.consume(2)
-        consumer.consume(1)
+        consumer.consume(1)  # empty consume — must not produce a span
         span_list = self.memory_exporter.get_finished_spans()
         self._compare_spans(span_list, expected_spans)
 
+    def test_poll_empty_does_not_create_span(self) -> None:
+        instrumentation = ConfluentKafkaInstrumentor()
+        consumer = MockConsumer(
+            [],
+            {
+                "bootstrap.servers": "localhost:29092",
+                "group.id": "mygroup",
+                "auto.offset.reset": "earliest",
+            },
+        )
+        self.memory_exporter.clear()
+        consumer = instrumentation.instrument_consumer(consumer)
+        consumer.poll()
+        consumer.poll()
+
+        span_list = self.memory_exporter.get_finished_spans()
+        self.assertEqual(len(span_list), 0)
+
+    def test_consume_empty_does_not_create_span(self) -> None:
+        instrumentation = ConfluentKafkaInstrumentor()
+        consumer = MockConsumer(
+            [],
+            {
+                "bootstrap.servers": "localhost:29092",
+                "group.id": "mygroup",
+                "auto.offset.reset": "earliest",
+            },
+        )
+        self.memory_exporter.clear()
+        consumer = instrumentation.instrument_consumer(consumer)
+        consumer.consume(5)
+        consumer.consume(5)
+
+        span_list = self.memory_exporter.get_finished_spans()
+        self.assertEqual(len(span_list), 0)
+
+    def test_poll_empty_cleans_up_previous_span_and_token(self) -> None:
+        instrumentation = ConfluentKafkaInstrumentor()
+        consumer = MockConsumer(
+            [MockedMessage("topic-1", 0, 0, [])],
+            {
+                "bootstrap.servers": "localhost:29092",
+                "group.id": "mygroup",
+                "auto.offset.reset": "earliest",
+            },
+        )
+        consumer = instrumentation.instrument_consumer(consumer)
+        consumer.poll()  # non-empty: sets _current_consume_span and _current_context_token
+        self.assertIsNotNone(consumer._current_consume_span)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(consumer._current_context_token)
+
+        consumer.poll()  # empty: should clean up both
+        self.assertIsNone(consumer._current_consume_span)
+        self.assertIsNone(consumer._current_context_token)
+
+    def test_consume_empty_cleans_up_previous_span_and_token(self) -> None:
+        instrumentation = ConfluentKafkaInstrumentor()
+        consumer = MockConsumer(
+            [MockedMessage("topic-1", 0, 0, [])],
+            {
+                "bootstrap.servers": "localhost:29092",
+                "group.id": "mygroup",
+                "auto.offset.reset": "earliest",
+            },
+        )
+        consumer = instrumentation.instrument_consumer(consumer)
+        consumer.consume(
+            1
+        )  # non-empty: sets _current_consume_span and _current_context_token
+        self.assertIsNotNone(consumer._current_consume_span)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(consumer._current_context_token)
+
+        consumer.consume(1)  # empty: should clean up both
+        self.assertIsNone(consumer._current_consume_span)
+        self.assertIsNone(consumer._current_context_token)
+
     def test_close(self) -> None:
         instrumentation = ConfluentKafkaInstrumentor()
         mocked_messages = [